As the twig is bent so grows the Tree!

In our western culture,good posture is considered very important.

For instance.in our words an honest person is known as ‘upright;yet if you are not then you are either ‘crooked’ or ’spineless’.It is unfortunate,but how you look may also influence how some people treat you.

Many parents are concerned about this,but only apply this knowledge to their child or teenager’s teeth-lots of time and effort go into getting an even smile-but there is less attention given to their child’s posture and how that child moves.This is shortsighted not only because of ‘appearance’,but also because untreated poor posture may cause future health problems and an increased risk of injury.School bags or sports may get blamed for the postural aches and pains rather than the underlying culprit.

How can a child’s bones be affected?

When a child uses their muscles,those muscles tug on the growing bones to guide and shape the development of their skeleton.

Without that appropriate stimulus,their bones will not become strong or correctly formed.Furthermore,if a child or teenager is inactive,or slouches for long periods of time,then their brain eventually believes that ‘faulty’ posture is actually ‘normal’.

Kid’s standing posture-what should you look for?

Firstly with children,check for symmetry-feet,knees,hips and shoulders should line up evenly.

Starting from the ground:

Do both feet,ankles and knees look the same?Do they point in a similar direction?Does one knee bend further backwards than the other?

Are the hips and shoulders level?Are the muscles on either side of the body the same size?Does one buttock,ribs or shoulder blade stick out more?

Are the shoulders drawn forward or the hands turned inwards?What is the position of the child’s head?Is it stuck forward,turned or tilted to one side?

Then look for balance and movement:

Can a child balance quietly on either leg without waving their arms or non-standing leg?Do they waddle when they walk,or appear awkward when they run?Can they bend or turn as far to left as they can to the right?Dose their spine look straight when they bend forward to touch their toe?

What if something doesn’t look right?

There is obviously a range of what is acceptable and the best starting place is with people who understand normal posture,Know what to look for,and what to do if some clinical care is required.

Ask your chiropractor.